€3.5 million in funding announced for 47 scoping projects

14th July 2022

Successful applicants will be funded under the Regional Enterprise Innovation Scoping Scheme 2022 (REISS)

Ministers of State Robert Troy TD and Damien English TD announced details of the 47 projects that have been approved for a total of €3.5 million in grant support under the Regional Enterprise Innovation Scoping Scheme 2022.

Some 15 Projects have been approved for REISS Priming Grants of up to €200,000, while 32 projects have been approved for REISS Feasibility Study grants of up to €50,000.

The REISS funding supports the development of potential innovative regional projects aligned with the objectives of the nine new Regional Enterprise Plans that were launched earlier this year.

Speaking at the funding announcement today Minister Robert Troy said:

“The nine Regional Enterprise Plans have the capacity to drive job growth and business expansion throughout Ireland. These ambitious plans draw on the established strengths of each region and are focused on ensuring the enterprise ecosystem is equipped to grasp the opportunities of the future. Developing an enterprise ecosystem across Ireland will help deliver jobs and prosperity as outlined in the Regional Enterprise Plans. These plans are about future opportunities and ensuring that Irish enterprise has the capacity and know how to continue to thrive, in both the domestic and international market. 

“We need to encourage new innovation and new thinking about how we tackle the significant challenges that business faces and I am sure that many of the projects funded today will go on to become centres of excellence that support of enterprise culture and contribute to local economies.”

Minister for Business, Employment and Retail, Damien English TD said:

“Government is focused on working hard to provide businesses and their talented people with targeted supports in order to sustain regional enterprise and job creation opportunities across every region in Ireland. The REISS scheme is a crucial part of that approach as we plan for the future by providing resources to early-stage projects to develop and advance their current plans to a stage where they can make real progress. 

“I am particularly pleased to see that a number of projects promoted by third-level institutions, with strong links to their local enterprise community, will receive funding in this initial phase. Strengthening the links between our education system and innovative local businesses is an important strategy in our nine Regional Enterprise Plans and we grasp new opportunities and tackle long-term challenges such as our new trading relationship with the UK and the transition to a low-carbon economy.”

Carol Gibbons, Divisional Manager, Regions and Local Enterprise, at Enterprise Ireland said:

“Supporting the delivery of balanced economic growth is a fundamental corner stone of Enterprise Irelands strategy. Two thirds of the employment in businesses we support are located outside Dublin and make a huge contribution to local economies. It is important that this momentum is maintained. The funding announced today supports the future economic development of the regions, ensuring that business can access the support and expertise necessary to compete and win in a rapidly changing business environment.”

The Regional Enterprise Innovation Scoping Scheme Grant is a single grant type, but with two different grant levels depending on the scope and scale of the project:

• Feasibility Funding – A REISS Feasibility Grant with 80% grant support to cover consultancy and travel costs for smaller early stage feasibility projects, and
• Priming Funding – A REISS Priming Grant with 80% grant support to cover Consultancy and Travel, but also supporting the cost of Personnel, Promotion and the Rental of Office space for larger scale more significant scoping projects.

Successful applicants have completed a rigorous evaluation process and in general these projects have:

• strong industrial interest or connections
• strong alignment with the scheme objectives
• linkages to key regional/national stakeholders including 3rd level/HEIs
• well defined Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and Metrics, with clear timelines for delivery
• a clearly defined and costed project plan

Successful applicants

Applications for funding were invited through a public call and 47 applicants have been approved for the scheme. 

The 32 projects receiving REISS Feasibility Study Grants are:

 The 15 projects receiving REISS Priming Grants are:

Notes for Editor:

Background

Over February and March 2022 nine new Regional Enterprise Plans were launched and commenced implementation. Each contain agreed ‘Strategic Objectives’ for enterprise development, accompanied by a time-bound set of actions to deliver on the objectives. The plans build on existing regional and inter-regional strengths and set out many new project areas which require further project building before decisions on funding can be finalised.

Enterprise Ireland’s new Regional Enterprise Innovation Scoping Scheme 2022 (REISS) was established to provide grant funding for the development and further evaluation of potential innovative regional projects aligned with the objectives of the wider Regional Enterprise Plans.

REISS aims to target grant aid at projects which will improve the resilience and international competitiveness of enterprises across all regions.

The funding should also enable the investigation and confirmation of early stage concepts with potential for enterprise innovation and accelerate the progress of significant or disruptive projects seeking to develop new innovative activities.

Objectives of the REISS Scheme

The objectives of the Regional Enterprise Innovation Scoping Scheme are:

• to provide assistance, including funding supports, to regionally based Not-for-Profit undertakings that provide enterprise support to Micro/SMEs or Large companies in sectors and regions across Ireland
• to support new Regional and National projects to investigate an opportunity, confirm its financial viability and develop initial plans for full-scale implementation
• to improve the competitiveness and capability of regional businesses by supporting collaborative projects to encourage and support increased entrepreneurial activity, productivity, and innovative capability
• to enhance collaboration and assist enterprises to respond to economic and market challenges, such as: the impact of Brexit and Covid 19; the transition to a low carbon economy; digitalisation; and smart specialisation
• to enhance the productivity and new product development opportunities of SMEs in order to increase the number of exporters, level of exports and to create and sustain employment across all regions

The outcome of the overall Scheme should be projects which have confirmed the opportunity they are targeting and made progress towards developing detailed plans for delivery of the ensuing project. The completion of this process should enable the development of a high-quality application for more significant future funding, although REISS approval does not confirm any rights or commitment by the state to further funding of the project.

REISS Scheme structure

These REISS projects focus on delivery of Feasibility Studies on specific collaborative and innovative projects, or on Priming projects that scope out detailed project delivery plans including design, costing and planning of infrastructural elements.

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